As Hurricane Sandy prepares to hit New York you can see the full scale of its force via the following satellite images.

The new satellite views of Hurricane Sandy were snapped Sunday by the GOES-13 weather satellite and the powerful Suomi NPP Earth-watching satellite. Both satellites are used by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor Earth's weather.

As of early Monday Hurricane Sandy was a Category 1 storm with wind speeds of up to 85 mph (140 kph) as it approached the U.S. East Coast. The storm was expected to make landfall in Delaware and New Jersey on Monday night and cause substantial flooding and power outages, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The main volcanic ash cloud is the bright orange plume being carried eastwards from southern Iceland. This is colour composite image and the colours do not correspond to the actual colours that would be seen by the human eye.

The latest satellite imagery is showing a plume between 20,000 and 30,000 ft over the North Sea and Denmark. Episodic thin plumes of volcanic ash have been detected over the UK overnight. We will continue to monitor during the day.

The main volcanic ash cloud is the bright orange plume being carried eastwards from southern Iceland.

Much of the airspace across northern and western Europe has been closed, and air control officials said some 17,000 flights would be cancelled on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of passengers in Europe and around the world have been affected.

Scientists say the volcano is still erupting but producing less ash. "Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash is continuing to move east and south-east and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," it said in a statement.